


Cracking Crackers

by Luthienberen



Category: Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson (TV 1980)
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 17:08:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17084333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luthienberen/pseuds/Luthienberen
Summary: Christmas crackers are for harmless pulling not for experimentation surely?





	Cracking Crackers

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the WAdvent Open Day Prompt “Silliness. The holidays are frequently a time for funnybone-tickling frivolity of many sorts: games and paper hats, pantomimes, films. Let whatever seems silly to you inspire you in some way today.”
> 
> I tried for silliness, but it isn’t as silly as I hoped! Oh well. A peek into Watson’s life with Holmes in the run-up to Christmas ;)

The crackle of paper arrested Watson’s attention as he finished arranging his silk cravat, followed by the rather strong and suspicious smell of _burning paper_. A life with Holmes had inured Watson to most alarms so he cautiously reached for his morning coat-

BANG!

Watson jumped, but resisted flinging himself to the floor. Seizing his revolver he raced into the living room expecting a thwarted thief. Instead he found the living room in disarray with the acrid smell of gunpowder.

“Holmes?”

The foremost detective in the world looked up from his sprawled position on the floor. Scraps of singed coloured paper, blackened carboard and elastic covered Holmes.

“Oh sorry Watson.”

“What happened? Are you injured?”

“Oh nothing to worry about Watson. I believe I put too much gunpowder into the cracker.”

“You put gunpowder – _my_ gunpowder I note – into a Christmas cracker?” Watson pinched his nose and sighed.

“Why?”

“I thought it would be an ingenious way of surprising a criminal.”

Watson stared at his ridiculous detective and saw the hopeful yet thrilled gleam in those bright eyes. Damn.

“Very well, but you must promise not to test them on Lestrade and to _leave the crackers under our tree alone_.”

Holmes opened his mouth to protest, but Watson raised an eyebrow and the irrepressible detective subsided.

Putting aside his revolver, Watson assisted Holmes up, checked him for injury then calmly proceeded to sit for breakfast. He maintained a close watch on their tree standing tall and proud in the corner: a beautiful bushy bottle green fir that was draped in coloured paper, small wooden decorations and Holmes’ cut-outs of famous (and not-so famous, but fascinating) criminals.

The crackers for Christmas Day were safely ensconced underneath the lower branches of the tree…for the moment anyway.

Selecting toast for both of them, Watson pushed the marmalade pot closer to Holmes’ plate, knowing it would tempt his mad friend away from his experiments sooner or later.

At it was Watson mused if it would be wiser to warn Lestrade of Holmes’ latest obsession before the Inspector pulled the wrong cracker? Lost in his wonderings Watson missed Holmes sneaking a single cracker from the tree to further his investigations…


End file.
